Been a Long Day
by ChaosAngel4us
Summary: -Glitter, fish sticks, a trunk full of memories, goblins with socks causing mischief, and a board game that ends in disaster.- A contest.


**Yo! I'm Eris and I'm new here to the Labyrinth fandom. I've had an idea for a contest for a while, so I decided to release it to the masses. If you decide to take part in the prompt contest, PM me or give me a review on this story to let me know you're doing it so I can check it out. **

**The deadline is June 25****th ****(my birthday!). I will announce the winner along with second and third place on my profile page and at the end of this one-shot within a weeks' time of the deadline. There aren't any restrictions on the contest thingy. Do whatever you want, as long as you include the following:**

_Glitter, fish sticks, a trunk full of memories, goblins with socks causing mischief, and a board game that ends in disaster._

**Good luck! I hope you decide to participate.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Been a Long Day<span>**

It had been a long day for Sarah. She was exhausted, especially after straining her mind with exams for the past few hours, and she still had to head over to the book store for her shift behind the counter. The young woman dropped her coat over the edge of the lounger, set her car keys on the counter in the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator to grab a glass of milk.

"Sarah?"

Sarah's roommate, Cariss, walked into the kitchen dressed in a pair of sophies and a baggy t-shirt. Sarah greeted the blond with a smile.

"What can I help you with?"

Cariss shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Have you seen my knee high penguin socks? I could've sworn I had them this morning…" she muttered. She spun so Sarah could see her outfit. "It would _totally_ complete my outfit, eh?" she added sarcastically. Sarah snorted.

"Sure. But no, I haven't seen them." _'I might know who has, though…'_ she added mentally. Cariss nodded before returning to her room to continue the hunt. Sarah slipped into her own room.

"All right, Bosco, come out and return Cariss' socks to me." Sarah ordered. A small head peeked out from under her bed followed by three more. Sarah recognized them as Larry, Mo, and Curly; Sarah had started calling them that due to their knack for always causing mischief and injuring themselves as well as for the fact they enjoyed getting into her Three Stooges collection of DVDs.

Bosco was their leader. The Three Stooges and he were never too far away when trouble brewed. Bosco was a tall goblin with brown hair and a crooked nose. Larry was shorter with blond hair and bright almost neon grin skin. Mo was the only girl of the four goblins that frequented Sarah's dorm room; she had bubblegum pink hair and wore the light blue hat Sarah gave her (after Mo stole it from her in the first place…). Curly, like his name, had long curly blue hair, blue skin, and was the shortest of the four. He never spoke, allowing the other three goblins to communicate for him.

Sarah had met the trouble makers a few days after her beating of the Labyrinth. Curly, who happened to have a fixation for shiny things, had stolen her house key. Sarah was going to go out to the park, but she would need her key to get back into the house because her dad was at work and Karen had taken Toby to the doctor for his annual check-up. Sarah had found the usual trio and Bosco hiding in her closet, Curly chewing on her key.

They had started visiting her ever since.

Sarah didn't mind it when they visited; usually they were a good distraction and showed up just when she needed one. However, Bosco and Larry constantly stole socks which could get infuriating. Locking her sock drawer didn't seem to deter them either. Mo was quite the lock pick.

Bosco and Larry both had a penguin print sock on their heads when they crawled out from under her bed. They removed the socks, scuffled over to Sarah's awaiting hand, and sheepishly placed the socks in her open palm. Sarah smiled at them.

"Thank you both." At their forlorn expressions, Sarah reached into her own sock drawer and pulled out a pair of yellow sock with ducks on them (they were a gift from Cariss). "You guys can play with them for a while, but be sure to return them to me when you are quite done with them."

Bosco and Larry grinned from ear to ear.

"Thank you, lady! Bosco take good care of sock. Bosco like Lady sock."

"I give back chicken sock after play with." Larry added after his leader, nodding his head furiously. Sarah giggled as they scurried back under her bed.

"And don't get caught!"

There was no response, but Sarah assumed they had heard her. She glanced at her mirror, debating on whether or not she should call on Hoggle before she left for work, before deciding that she didn't have time and would call on him when she returned home.

Sarah left her room, socks in hand, and knocked on Cariss' door. The blond opened the door and squealed in delight at her socks in Sarah's hand. She thanked her roommate profusely and yanked the penguin socks on. Sarah was glad Cariss didn't notice the slobber mark on the toe where one of the goblins had been chewing on it. Sarah left her strange friend to her "happy dance" and walked out to grab her keys and leave.

Sarah put her coat back on and finished the glass of milk she had gotten out earlier. She swiped her hand over the counter to grab her keys, but came up empty. Sarah stopped short and glanced at the counter where her keys had sat moments before. They were nowhere in sight. Sarah sighed exasperatedly.

"Curly!" she shouted, momentarily forgetting about her roommate. A chorus of giggles followed her outburst. Curly crawled out of his hiding place and handed her the car keys, a goofy grin on his thin lips. He bowed, silently returning from whence he came. Sarah shook her head with a small laugh.

They did keep her on her toes, she'd give them that.

The book shop sat a few blocks away from her university. Sarah loved the little shop with all of her heart as well as the owner, a sweet old man with rounded glasses and laughter lines etched around his eyes: Mr. Jones. He had hired Sarah after noticing her come in almost every day to read or buy a book. Sarah thoroughly enjoyed her job; she was only reluctant to go today partially due to exams and partly due to the hellish week she had.

Sarah parked her car in the back of the shop and walked in through the "employees only" door. It led to the break room. Hanging beside the door was her green apron which she pulled on over her jeans and purple blouse. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail so it no longer hung in her face before making her way to her post behind the counter.

She was ten minutes early.

Sarah almost groaned when she realized who else would be working with her today. Amanda Walsh, a girl she went to university with and couldn't stand with a passion.

'_Just another thing to add to my week.'_ Sarah grumbled silently. Amanda gave her a brief glance, not even acknowledging Sarah's existence, and returned to the magazine she was reading popping her gum loudly. Sarah stood in front of the left cash register, ignoring her co-worker for all she was worth.

Amanda and she had an understanding. They used to be roommates, but due to Amanda's nosey nature, Sarah requested a room transfer for fear of her finding out about the goblins or her friends that traversed the dormitory. Amanda had never really "forgiven" Sarah for that, but they both decided to stay out of each other's way.

"Excuse me, Miss, but I am looking for something in particular. Would you mind helping me?"

Sarah almost jumped as the customer seemed to materialize out of thin air. Amanda and Sarah's eyes were both drawn to him instantly; he was of average height with rather long spiked out blond hair and heterochromic blue eyes. He was smirking at Sarah rather predatorily, a gloved hand resting on the counter.

"Sir, _**I**_ can help you. She's new here; _**I**_ can better help you with what you're looking for." Amanda cut in, smiling sweetly at him and leaning over the counter so to give him a better view of her cleavage. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"No, I do believe Sarah here can help me with my… problem." He flashed a grin at the brunette, causing Sarah to roll her eyes.

"No, I think that _**I**_ would definitely be able to help you out better." Amanda persisted.

"_Give it up already…"_ Sarah thought to no avail. The Goblin King turned his attention to the other girl, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. _"Oh you've done it now."_

"When I say no to someone, I mean it." He almost hissed. "Isn't that right, precious?"

Sarah nodded slowly, slipping out from behind the counter to see what her childhood villain wanted. Amanda huffed angrily, shooting Sarah a glare. Sarah shook her head before turning her attention to Jareth.

"_What_ are you doing here?" she whispered to him. Jareth shrugged.

"Sightseeing, precious. Is that a crime?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "No, but I would appreciate it if you wouldn't walk into my workplace and cause even more issues between me and my coworker."

"And how would I be doing that?"

Sarah froze. "Um, well you see, it's just that—I mean, I was just—you know— never mind!" she stammered out, a blush heating up her cheeks. The Goblin King chuckled darkly. He approached her, causing her to back up until she hit the wall beside a bookshelf. Jareth loomed over her, a feral smirk still plastered on his lips.

"Is it because I am so… distracting?" he drawled in his clipped British accent. Sarah shook her head 'no'. His breath was on her face and Sarah glanced at his lips before looking up at his eyes. Her eyes fluttered shut as he moved closer; he was going to kiss her.

"I'll see you in your room when your shift is over, precious." He whispered. Suddenly, the pressure holding her against the wall was gone. Sarah opened her eyes and coughed; she was coated in glitter. She wiped off what she could (was it in her _hair_ too?) and returned to the front counter rather sullenly.

"Stupid, transporting, glittery, fae…" she grumbled under her breathe. Amanda stared at her.

What happened to _you_?" she demanded harshly. Sarah glared at her.

"Don't ask."

Amanda scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself."

* * *

><p>Sarah opened the door to her room with another sigh. She wanted nothing more than to slide into bed and fall asleep, forgetting all about college exams, troublesome goblins, disgruntled coworkers, and magical fae kings.<p>

However, fate had other ideas.

"I made fish sticks!" Cariss shouted as Sarah passed the small kitchen. "I was thinking we could do dinner and a movie, eh?" Sarah tossed her roommate a weary glance and Cariss set the plate of food she was holding down. She came over to where Sarah had sat down on the recliner and opened her arms for a hug. "Rough day?"

Sarah welcomed the warm embrace. "You have _no_ idea."

"Want to talk about it?"

Sarah shook her head. "No. I really just want to go to bed." She watched as Cariss' face fell. "But, fish sticks _do_ sound good."

Cariss' face brightened considerably and bound away to grab Sarah a plate of the microwaveable dinner. "Coming right up!"

The two sat down on the couch and ate their food, turning on the TV to watch it for a bit. The A Team was on, the girls' favorite action/comedy movie. Just when Face was talking about the plan he had, Cariss squealed at the window, scaring Sarah half to death.

"What is it?"

"It's a barn owl!" Cariss shrieked. "Isn't it so cute?"

Sarah rolled her eye, something she'd been doing a lot today. Cariss had an odd fixation with birds of any kind as well as one with knee-high socks. Sarah would _never_ understand the blond, but she truly did enjoy her company.

"Look at him, isn't he so cute! Hey, it looks like he's watching you, Sarah."

Sarah looked over at where the owl sat on a branch outside their window. True enough, the owl's yellow eyes were staring at her, a look akin to one he would probably give to a mouse he planned to make into his next meal. Sarah swallowed hard; she'd recognize those eyes anywhere. The owl screeched before taking off into the night, a white mark on the black sky. Cariss pouted at his retreat.

"Aw, and he was so pretty too…"

Sarah excused herself, set her dishes in the sink, and entered her room, already knowing what to expect. On her small twin bed sat the Goblin King. He was dressed in tight black pants tucked into black boots, a white poet shirt open to show his golden medallion, a black leather jacket, and black gloves. He grinned as Sarah entered and she closed the door behind her.

"What do you want?" she asked warily. Jareth motioned for her to sit down.

"I simply wanted to play a game, Sarah."

Sarah shivered at the way her name sounded on his tongue. He caressed every letter and rolled the "r".

"I don't think I would enjoy any of you games, Jareth. I have a feeling you'd use _any_ means to win."

"Is that necessarily such a bad thing?" He asked. "You didn't seem to be complaining in the book store."

Sarah fought back the blush rising on her cheeks, cleared her throat, and determinedly refused to return his gaze. "What kind of game did you want to play?"

"Scrabble."

Sarah's eyes snapped up to his in confusion, her eyebrows knitting together. "Scrabble?"

Jareth nodded. "Scrabble."

Sarah weighed the pros and cons, realizing that it would be quite difficult to cheat at that game. "I suppose so, but what's the catch?"

Jareth motioned to the chest sitting at the end of her bed. It was a large, handcrafted chest with fairies, elves, unicorns, and other magical beings carved into the wood. Sarah had filled it with rather… private items, things she would rather others _not_ see.

"If you decide to stop playing, if you forfeit, you have to show me the contents of that box."

"But—" Sarah tried to protest, but Jareth interrupted her.

"If you simply lose, I won't ask you to open the chest. You only must open it if you decide to quit playing the game."

Sarah contemplated it, deciding that she could handle a simple game of scrabble without giving up. "Very well, I suppose.

The game board materialized on the bed instantly along with a pair of chairs on opposite sides. Jareth smiled at Sarah.

"Are you quite sure?"

Sarah nodded, a smile tugging on her lips. "It'll be a piece of cake."

Jareth's grin became decidedly more feral. "Wonderful. Shall we?"

Sarah took a seat on the opposite side of the board and glanced at her letters.

"Ladies first." Jareth said. Sarah nodded, setting down S-T-A-R-S. Jareth followed with V-E-L-V-E-T, adding on to her "T".

L-E-T-T-E-R

P-E-A-C-H

C-A-S-T-L-E

S-E-X

Sarah scrunched her nose up at the Goblin Kings last play. Her eyes met his and he shrugged indifferently. "Luck of the draw, precious."

Several turns later, Jareth had managed to play an assortment of words that would make even a prostitute blush. Sarah _knew_ that the only way he could have done that was deliberately. She glared at him over the bed, a blush staining her cheeks.

"You, you—" she was at a loss for words and Jareth only grinned.

"What is it, Sarah? Do you give up?"

"No." she ground out furiously, her eyes blazing.

"Are you quite sure? You don't know what my next word will be."

Sarah tried in vain to see what letters he could possibly have before her mind began to come up with an assortment of terrible words he could use. She would _not_ allow him to win, however. She still had a shot at this. Stubbornly, she lifted her chin and folded her arms over her breasts.

"I'm sure, Goblin King. Do your worst."

Sarah instantly regretted her words as Jareth began spelling out his next word. She closed her eyes and waved her hands in front of her. "Fine, fine! You win, just—_don't_ finish that word."

Jareth continued to grin at her. "As it should be, precious. So, what do you happen to have within your box?"

Sarah glanced down at the box longingly. She really didn't want to have to open it, but _anything_ was better than finishing that game with the Goblin King. With a defeated sigh, Sarah knelt down to lift the lid off of the wooden trunk. She ran her hand reverently over the decorated lid; the chest had originally belonged to her mother. Sarah received it after she left her and her father. Jareth stood behind her, peering over her shoulder to see the contents of the box. Sarah first pulled out a tattered white dress, sown together in places and much too small for her to fit into. Next was a crown of dead leaves followed by a jar full of white feathers. Sarah then pulled out a music box which she set on the flood beside her. A dwarf book end, a familiar stuffed animal that looked like a cross between a fox and a dog, and a statue of a man followed next. After each item lay out on the floor around the two, Sarah pulled out a smaller box, this one holding a well worn book with a velvet red cover. Printed in gold letters on the front was the word LABYRINTH.

"What are all these?" Jareth asked, already knowing the answer. He would rather hear it from his champion herself, however. Sarah sighed, running her hands over each object that had inhabited the wooden trunk.

"This dress and the crown were what I used to wear every day when I was younger and would go out to the park, reading monologues from my favorite book."

Jareth nodded, remembering when he used to watch her from afar as a small, white barn owl. "What else?"

Sarah lifted the bookend and stuffed animal, cradling them in her arms. "These remind me of the friends I made during my… trip back when I was fifteen." She set them down and grabbed the music box next. "This music box never worked right; it used to play the first few lines of a song before screeching to a halt." She looked over at Jareth. "Ever since my trip to the Labyrinth, I couldn't get it to shut up."

Jareth watched as she wound the music box up and a familiar tune played from within. There were no words, but Sarah knew them.

"_I'll paint you mornings of gold, _

_I'll spin you Valentine evenings_

_Though we're strangers 'til now _

_We're choosing the path between the stars_

_I'll leave my love between the stars."_ She sang softly. Jareth smiled the first genuine smile all night, not one of his usual smirks. He offered the young woman his hand. She stared at him curiously.

"What?"

"Dance with me, Sarah."

She let out a short laugh. "I remember the last time we danced. I seem to recall you infuriating me before trying to make me forget about my brother." She accused, but there was a playful tone to her words. Jareth raised one of his high-swept eyebrows.

"I also seem to recall you enjoying that dance."

Sarah didn't respond, simply took his hand and allowed him to pull her around the small space of her room in a slow waltz.

"What are the other things within your box, precious?"

"The, um, feathers were because I seemed to find a white owl almost everywhere I went."

"Did you think it was me?" he asked brazenly. Sarah met his gaze with a smirk of her own.

"Was it?"

"Perhaps." He answered cryptically. Sarah rolled her eyes at him, but found that a smile still rested on her lips. As the music played on, she found herself leaning closer to the Goblin King before her head finally came to rest on his shoulder. Jareth held her close.

"The statue, it reminded me of you." Sarah continued to explain the items in her trunk. "The book, as you probably know, is the tale of my adventure, almost exactly as it happened."

"The book was written about you." Jareth confessed.

"But, I read it before I even went to the Labyrinth."

Jareth shook his head. "Time in the Underground is different than here. Sometimes, something that has already happened can overlap with the future." He sighed at her confused look. "It's a hard concept to explain, Sarah, and even harder to understand. Just know that the book is about you."

"Um, okay."

The music box came to a halt, but the two didn't break away from their embrace. Jareth looked down at Sarah and she up at him. He really was beautiful; Sarah had read that all fae were, but something about him was particularly ethereal. She couldn't resist him anymore. She was able to as a child, but as time went on, she found herself drawn even more to him each time their paths crossed.

Jareth leaned down slowly, his lips barely brushing Sarah's. He pulled back and looked into her eyes for confirmation before his head swooped down and he claimed them once more in a harsh but passionate kiss. Sarah tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, and Jareth lifted her back so she molded against him. They were life opposite ends of a coin: different, but their will was equally matched. He had power over her, Sarah almost cringed to admit, but if he was going to be kissing her like _that_ she might not mind being his slave.

It was at that moment that a loud crash sounded from the kitchen followed by a girl's squeal. Sarah was so startled she bonked her forehead against Jareth's upper lip. He shouted in pain, covering his mouth as he felt it begin to swell. Sarah, not noticing she had hurt the fae king, rushed out of the room to see what was going on.

Cariss was crouched on the counter, waving a frying pan at four giggling creatures below her: Bosco, Larry, Mo, and Curly. Bosco and Larry had the duck socks Sarah had let them borrow on their heads while Curly was chewing on Cariss' keys and Mo had a large amount of fish sticks crammed into her mouth. Cariss looked over at Sarah, a mix of fear and confusion on her face.

"Sarah! What the heck are those things?" she shrieked, the pitch of her voice bordering on painful. Sarah gave her friend/roommate a sympathetic look before becoming stern at the four goblins.

"You four are in _so much_ trouble!" Sarah shouted. "What did I say about staying out of sight?"

The four goblins exchanged glances before muttering an apology and vanishing before the two girls' eyes. Cariss blinked rapidly.

"Wha—wha—what was _that_?"

Sarah opened her mouth to calm the blond down when a loud crash came from her room. Sarah gave Cariss an apologetic glance. "Sorry, but I'll explain everything later. I'll be _right_ back!"

Sarah rushed into her room to see the Scrabble game she and the Goblin King had played was all over the room. The four goblins were tossing letters here and there, Bosco shouting something about "snowing". Sarah's eyes about bugged out of her skull.

"JARETH!"

The fae materialized before her and Sarah noticed he was now sporting a fat lip.

"What happened to your lip? Never mind, just get these goblins out of my room!"

Jareth snapped his fingers, the goblins disappearing. Sarah let out a sigh of relief and sat down on her bed. Several Scrabble pieces poked her and she sighed again, this time in exasperation.

"Could you get rid of the game too, please?"

Sarah looked up at Jareth to see that he was glowering at her angrily.

"What's the matter with you?"

Jareth snorted. "'What's the matter with me?' 'What's the matter with _me_?'" he echoed in disbelief. "First, you give me this horrible bruise on my lip, then expect me to cater to your every whim? Fix it yourself!"

And he was gone with a flash of glitter. Sarah groaned; now, on top of the chaotic mess of Scrabble pieces on her floor, there was a fine coating of glitter on every surface.

Sarah spent the rest of the week trying to explain the night's events to her roommate and cleaning her room so she was able to move without getting glitter on her or stepping on a Scrabble letter.


End file.
